* [CVE-2026-98182][LOW] wifi: mac80211: refuse to make a monitor active when it has no queue [ Upstream
@ 2026-10-08 14:00 21% AL-KERNEL
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From: AL-KERNEL @ 2026-10-08 14:00 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: kernel-cve
CVE: CVE-2026-98182
Priority: LOW
AL-KERNEL base severity: LOW
KPANIC flag: NO
Patch: wifi: mac80211: refuse to make a monitor active when it has no queue [ Upstream
Commit: b7b7d46ec4fa127767931938b282c361c0519af6
Upstream patch: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=b7b7d46ec4fa127767931938b282c361c0519af6
Original CVE announcement: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-98182
Analysis date: Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:00:52 -0400
ActionableScore: 1
ActionableScore lower bound: unknown
Actionable bucket: Ordinary Moderate
Manual review required: NO
Summary:
No one-sentence report phrase was found.
======================================================================
ABOUT THIS REPORT
======================================================================
The original Linux kernel CVE announcement for CVE-2026-98182 is available here:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-98182
The original announcement does not normally provide a security severity
estimate, CVSS assessment, or enough information to determine whether the
reported kernel bug represents a practically relevant security issue.
This report was generated by AL-KERNEL, an AI-assisted Linux kernel
vulnerability analysis system developed by Alexander Larkin. It combines
an autonomous classifier with LLM-assisted technical analysis and a
separate ActionableScore mechanism.
The purpose of this report is to prioritize Linux kernel CVEs before
manual review, identify cases that require prompt investigation, and
support automatic closure of issues that are unlikely to have meaningful
security impact.
Published priority for this report: LOW
Manual review required: NO
A detailed explanation of the methodology and priority rules is included
at the end of this message.
======================================================================
AL-KERNEL CLASSIFICATION RESULT
======================================================================
CVE-2026-98182 LOW https://www.kernelcve.org/list/?q=CVE-2026-98182 CHECK WITH IMPACT FROM ORIG NN MODERATE | AEGIS IMPACT MODERATE_KPANIC AEGIS_AS=1 LEGACY=LOW RESULT=DIFF (legacy and Aegis reconciliation differ; DECISION: legacy LOW vs Aegis MODERATE_KPANIC) Maybe valid. Check manually. Hints by AL-KERNEL: The best (paranoid) CVSS is 'AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H';**CWE-476;CWE-754;*CWE-20;Other CVSS 'AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H';BEST CVSS score: '5.5';DESCR 'A NULL pointer dereference in the mac80211 monitor interface path occurs when a monitor interface without a reserved TXQ is changed to active state before it is brought up. A local attacker can trigger the issue through wireless netlink configuration operations and cause ath9k_add_interface to dereference the missing queue, resulting in a kernel oops or possible kernel crash. For the CVSS the PR:L metric is used for the paranoid score only when a reduced capability service account, container root, or delegated network administrator can control the affected wireless interface. In typical host deployments CAP_NET_ADMIN access to a physical wireless interface is significant administrative access and the base score uses PR:H. The issue is not network reachable through wireless packet traffic. Impact is denial of service only and there is no demonstrated memory corruption, information disclosure, integrity impact, or privilege escalation.';NO MANUAL CHECK; ,and ActionableScore result is Ordinary Moderate (with actual score 1) MAYBE REMOTE DANGER NULLPTR SIMPLEFIX DECREASED_TO_MODERATE_REGULAR_FROM_MODERATE7_BASED_ON_GUESSCVSS_AND_CIANNH DECREASED_TO_LOW_FROM_MODERATE_BASED_ON_ACTIONABLESCORELESSTHAN3 - - checked
======================================================================
ACTIONABLESCORE ANALYSIS
======================================================================
ActionableScore=1
PrimitiveClass=CLASS_C
RealUAF=NO
HostAdminRequired=UNKNOWN
NamespaceScopedPrivilege=UNKNOWN
ImportantCandidate=NO
ManualReview=NO
AutoDowngradeAllowed=YES
1. ActionableScore
* Raw conservative score: 1
* Conservative score: 1
* Raw paranoid score: 1
* Paranoid score: 1
* Final recommended bucket: **Ordinary Moderate**::
2. Signal breakdown
* +1 Reliable kernel crash or strong DoS. The supplied trace shows a NULL pointer dereference in ath_tx_node_init during ath9k_add_interface after activation of an invalid monitor interface state.
* No memory corruption bonus. The patch establishes a missing state validation and a NULL dereference, not a UAF, OOB access, double free, refcount misuse, type confusion, or write primitive.
* No remote reachability bonus. The trigger is a local wireless netlink control operation, not attacker supplied wireless packet traffic.
* No local unprivileged trigger bonus. The supplied reproducer explicitly requires CAP_NET_ADMIN.
* No host-admin penalty. CAP_NET_ADMIN is established, but the supplied context does not prove whether the complete operation requires init_user_ns host CAP_NET_ADMIN over a host wireless device.
* No namespace-scoped reachability finding. The input does not establish that monitor interface creation, monitor activation, device control, and the ath9k path can all be completed by an attacker using only an attacker controlled namespace.
* No confidentiality or integrity bonus. No disclosure, write, protected-object modification, or privilege escalation primitive is established.
* No additional availability point. The observed NULL dereference and possible kernel crash are the same DoS consequence and are counted once.
3. Reachability analysis
The demonstrated trigger requires CAP_NET_ADMIN and consists of setting MONITOR_FLAG_ACTIVE on a down monitor interface and then bringing that interface up. The vulnerable transition reaches mac80211 interface activation and ath9k_add_interface, where ath_tx_node_init dereferences the absent TXQ.
The evidence does not establish that an ordinary unprivileged user can complete the full sequence. It also does not establish that a container or non-initial network namespace can control the relevant ath9k backed wireless interface. Physical wireless device ownership and mac80211 monitor interface management may require authority over a host owned device, but the provided patch does not expose the exact capability checks. Therefore HostAdminRequired and NamespaceScopedPrivilege remain UNKNOWN.
No remote network trigger is established. Receiving or transmitting normal wireless traffic is not the trigger. The issue requires local control-plane configuration through wireless netlink operations. No race, special timing, boot option, sysctl, or rare hardware prerequisite is established beyond use of an affected ath9k wireless adapter.
4. Primitive and severity interpretation
The exact primitive is an invalid interface state leading to a NULL pointer dereference. A monitor interface created without an active TXQ can later be marked active while down. When the interface is opened, ath9k receives an interface with no TXQ and dereferences the missing queue.
This is not a lifetime bug. No object is shown to be freed, retained after lifetime end, reused, or accessed through a stale pointer. There is no concrete repeated release or refcount mutation. The issue is therefore CLASS_C rather than CLASS_A or CLASS_B.
The demonstrated consequence is a kernel Oops and potentially a kernel crash depending on kernel configuration. The patch supports local denial of service only. No attacker controlled payload, arbitrary write, controlled reclaim, callback influence, information disclosure, integrity impact, security-boundary bypass, or privilege escalation is established. ImportantCandidate is NO and AutoDowngradeAllowed is YES because the established primitive is a privilege gated invalid-state NULL dereference with crash-only behavior.
5. One-sentence report phrase
A CAP_NET_ADMIN user can activate a monitor interface without a TXQ and trigger an ath9k NULL pointer dereference during interface startup, causing a local kernel denial of service.
6. Manual review recommendation
NO MANUAL CHECK NEEDED
The patch establishes a local CAP_NET_ADMIN gated invalid-state NULL dereference with DoS impact only and no unresolved memory-corruption or security-boundary primitive.
7. Call-site confidence
Call-site confidence: medium
======================================================================
UPSTREAM PATCH SUMMARY
======================================================================
Patch: wifi: mac80211: refuse to make a monitor active when it has no queue [ Upstream
Commit: b7b7d46ec4fa127767931938b282c361c0519af6
Upstream URL: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=b7b7d46ec4fa127767931938b282c361c0519af6
Changed files:
net/mac80211/cfg.c
Diff excerpt:
Not included in this email. See the upstream URL for the full patch.
Full patch:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=b7b7d46ec4fa127767931938b282c361c0519af6
======================================================================
DETAILED REPORT METHODOLOGY
======================================================================
The original Linux kernel CVE announcement for CVE-2026-98182 can be found here:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-98182
The original CVE announcement normally does not include a security-level
estimate. In particular, it may not contain a CVSS assessment, an impact
level, or enough information to determine whether the reported bug is a
practically relevant security issue. One purpose of this parallel CVE list
is to provide that missing technical and prioritization information.
The original goal of the AL-KERNEL project was to prioritize Linux kernel
CVE analysis automatically before manual review. The system can also help
identify non-security issues that may be suitable for automatic closure.
This report was generated by AL-KERNEL, an AI-assisted Linux kernel
vulnerability analysis system developed by Alexander Larkin.
The first analysis stage combines an autonomous classifier with additional
LLM-based analysis. The autonomous classifier runs locally on a CPU and is
based on a backpropagation neural network. Together, these mechanisms
produce a technical vulnerability description, identify likely weakness
types, estimate CVSS severity, and provide input for ActionableScore.
Two CVSS estimates are retained because incomplete kernel vulnerability
information often permits more than one defensible interpretation:
Conservative CVSS vector: AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
The Best / paranoid CVSS vector: AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
The Best / paranoid CVSS score: 5.5
The conservative vector represents a lower-impact interpretation.
The Best/paranoid vector intentionally represents a plausible upper-bound
interpretation and should not automatically be treated as demonstrated
real-world impact.
CVSS may also need to be adjusted for a particular Linux deployment,
because actual reachability, privileges, enabled kernel configuration,
hardware, namespaces, exposed device nodes, and other environmental
conditions can differ significantly between systems.
A separate ActionableScore mechanism evaluates practical remediation
urgency. Its analysis may include reachability, attack prerequisites,
subsystem exposure, memory-corruption characteristics, denial-of-service
reliability, and possible confidentiality, integrity, or
privilege-escalation impact.
Conservative ActionableScore: unknown
Paranoid ActionableScore: 1
The final base severity is taken directly from the second tab-separated
field of the AL-KERNEL classification result. ActionableScore does not
replace or independently override that final AL-KERNEL decision, and
if ActionableScore adjusted impact level of ALKERNEL, then you would see
self-readable flags above like INCREASED_TO_HIGH_BASED_ON_ACTIONABLESCOREHIGHEREQTHAN7.
For an AL-KERNEL result of MODERATE, this report uses the following
additional presentation split:
ActionableScore below 5 -> MODERATE REGULAR
ActionableScore 5 or more -> MODERATE 7.0
The distinction between MODERATE REGULAR and MODERATE 7.0 makes it
possible to identify Moderate issues that should receive manual analysis
and fixes before lower-priority MODERATE REGULAR issues. In many cases,
MODERATE REGULAR fixes may wait for a later rebase or routine update.
There is one override in which MODERATE REGULAR becomes MODERATE 7.0
even when the ActionableScore is below 5. When the AL-KERNEL result
contains the KPANIC flag, a MODERATE result is always presented as
MODERATE 7.0. The KPANIC flag selected with few regexps without
usage of AI at all, so it helps to detect cases when Kernel Crash happens
and similar (to filter False-Negative results from the LLM usage).
KPANIC indicates that a reliable kernel crash, kernel panic, or similarly
serious kernel availability impact was identified by the classification
workflow.
AL-KERNEL base severity for this report: LOW
KPANIC detected for this report: NO
Published priority for this report (same as in Subject): LOW
These results are intended to support engineering triage. They are
machine-generated estimates, and cases marked for manual review should
be validated by a human security engineer before final disposition.
For more info read docs linked from here: https://kernelcve.org/
(and you can submit you own patch there to generate such a report
for non-existant CVE-id yet).
Note that in many cases this AI tool selects higher severity, than
real is (means you can expect Importants instead of Moderate 7.0 or
Moderates 7.0 instead of regular Moderates). If you see such cases,
please use reply email interface to add additional manual analyses
info to this particular CVE.
And please, please, let me know when you see Lows instead of Importants
or Important instead of Low (because particular for such cases I
need to tune this AI tool to make it better for this one and next similar).
My contact email for such notifications is [email protected] (and both
send reply to CVE record itself too and see "reply" button below for howto reply).
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